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President Obama Announces Intent to Appoint Dr. James J. Zogby to USCIRF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 3, 2013 | By USCIRF

WASHINGTON, DC - President Barack Obama on August 30, 2013 announced his intent to appoint Dr. James J. Zogby to serve on the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

"USCIRF warmly welcomes Dr. Zogby as our newest incoming Commissioner. My fellow Commissioners and I eagerly await Dr. Zogby adding his voice to ours in support of humanity's first freedom,” said USCIRF Chairman Dr. Robert P. George. "Given his knowledge, experience and commitment, I am confident that he will make significant contributions to our work on behalf of the cherished right of freedom of religion or belief and its fuller integration into U.S. foreign policy.”

Dr. Zogby is President of the Arab American Institute, which he founded in 1985. He is also Managing Director of Zogby Research Services, and a Visiting Professor of Social Research and Public Polling at New York University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In 1982, he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a non-profit relief organization which funds social welfare projects in Lebanon. Earlier in his career, Dr. Zogby co-founded the Palestine Human Rights Campaign and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. He is the current Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Committee for SkyNewsArabia News. He has hosted various television programs, including A Capital View on MBC from 1993 to 2001, and Viewpoint with James Zogby on Abu Dhabi Television from 2001 to 2011. His column, "Washington Watch,” is currently published in 14 Arab and South Asian countries. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Zogby received a B.A. from Le Moyne College and a Ph.D. in Comparative Religions from Temple University.

Comprised of nine members, USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission that monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and House of Representatives.